


The Other Side

by Tristiahna



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Other Side of the Portal AU, Parental Bonding, badger cereal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-26
Updated: 2015-12-29
Packaged: 2018-04-06 05:04:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4209000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tristiahna/pseuds/Tristiahna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was a low humming, as the unnerving sound of a machine starting up filled the lab. Lights blinked on and Danny barely made it to his feet before a bright light over took him and a shriek filled the air. He was dazed as colors were dancing all around him, but no longer in blinding pain, he finally walked forward and out of the portal. Out of the portal and in to the Ghost Zone. </p><p>AU Based on, "What would have happened if Danny entered the Ghost Zone, instead of re-entering the human world, after the accident"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> After a series of asks/conversations on Tumblr about "what would happen if Danny exited the portal and entered the Ghost Zone opposed to re-entering the human realm after the accident" - I decided to start a story for it, since a lot of interest in the concept was expressed! Not 100% sure where it's going yet, but I have plenty of ideas~ I hope you guys enjoy!

“Johnny! Look out!” Phantom called out, as a lizard like ghost shot towards them.

Johnny managed to dodge just in time as its tail came barreling towards them.

Phantom laughed as he looked over at Kitty, who was a little ways away.

“You guys are idiots!” She cried, while still maintaining her distance.

The lizard ghost let at a growl as he came after Phantom.

Phantom smiled as he began shooting ecto-beams at it, which it skillfully dodged. Phantom, however, took advantaged of the distraction and quickly turned invisible, only to reappear shortly after, and delivered a hard punch to the beast.

The ghost went flying back with a cry of frustration before it lunged back at the two ghost boys.

Johnny went to cast his shadow as the beast swung at Phantom. However, Phantom ducked last minute and the blow struck Johnny head on.

Kitty gasped as she watched as her boyfriend was sent tumbling backwards.

Phantom stood there stunned for a moment before releasing a series of attacks.

The beast growled, and dove at Phantom, but he capably dodged its attacks. Eventually, the beast grew weary of the obvious pointless battle, and decided to flee the area.

Phantom let out a sigh before quickly joining Kitty, who was hovering over Johnny.

“You okay dude?” Phantom questioned, seeing the ectoplasm dripping from both his nose and mouth.

Johnny nodded. “It’s whatever, I’ve had worse.”

Kitty scoffed. “What’s wrong with you two? I told you guys if you kept this nonsense up someone was going to get hurt!”

“Relax. There’s no fun in being a ghost if you don’t get to use your powers here and there. Anyway, it was an accident, generally that wouldn’t have been a problem.” Phantom tried to reassure her.

She rolled her eyes.

Johnny got back on his feet and wiped away ectoplasm.

“We should be heading back. Since a few of us are getting together later I don’t want to be running around trying to get things ready last minute.” Kitty informed.

Phantom cocked his head curiously.

“You… you didn’t tell him, did you Johnny?” Kitty glared over at her boyfriend.

Johnny rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “Nah, I totally forgot.”

Kitty let out a frustrated sigh before turning back to Phantom. “A group of us are getting together at our place. Ember is coming over along with Skulker, who apparently is her boyfriend now? Weird. Anyway, Technus will also be coming, but you’ve met those three before so it’s cool.” Kitty informed.

“Will there be others I haven’t met?” Danny questioned.

“Yeah, actually, Desiree, Bertrand, and Spectra will also be joining us.” Kitty responded.

“Oh. I think I’ve met Desiree before. The man-hater, right?” Phantom questioned with a laugh.

“Yep, that’s her.” Johnny confirmed with a scowl.

Phantom shrugged. “Yeah we never officially met though, I didn’t want to bother her.”

“Well, maybe we can put you two on okay terms then.” Kitty said while they began to make their way back to hers and Johnny’s lair. “I don’t think you’ve ever met Bertrand or Spectra.”

Phantom shook his head.

“Take what they say with a grain of salt; those two are leeches. I don’t know why we’re friends.” Johnny said while eyeing Kitty who was giving him a dirty look.

Phantom laughed. “Okay, okay, calm down you two, it’s all good.”

They approached their lair door and made their way inside.

“Why are we all getting together though? I mean not that I mind, but it seems so out of the blue.” Phantom asked as he leaned up against a beaten couch.

“To celebrate.” Johnny answered, without thinking.

Kitty quickly turned around and wacked him with the back of her hand and a loud crack resounding through the room. “Johnny!”

“Ouch! Shit, sorry, I forgot!” He defended while caressing the spot she had hit.

“Celebrating? Celebrating what?” Phantom questioned while staring at Johnny who looked absolutely pathetic. She couldn’t have hit him _that_ hard.

“Ugh! I guess I have to tell you now.” She glared over at her boyfriend before turning back to Phantom. “We are celebrating your 6 month anniversary. Surprise.” She stated flatly with a dismissive wave.

“My 6 month anni- oh…” Phantom breathed out.  The 6-month anniversary since he died.  “Wow I can’t believe it’s been that long already.”

“Yep!” Johnny hit him on the back. “Kitty likes any excuse to have people over though, so-“

Kitty rolled her eyes.

Phantom smiled. “I appreciate it, Kitty.”

“Yeah, you better!” She turned to start getting some things organized.  
Both Johnny and Phantom watched her walk away before Johnny placed a hand on Phantom’s shoulder.

“You going to be okay?” He questioned quietly.

“What? Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” Phantom responded.

“I mean, you really haven’t talked about your death since you got here. Most ghosts don’t openly speak of it, but usually newer ghosts need to, I don’t know, vent it out at least once? I mean something awful had to have happened to land you in the Ghost Zone opposed to moving on.” Johnny said.

Phantom was silent for a moment before shrugging. “It’s whatever. Don’t worry about me, dude. It’s strange to see you that concerned.” He responded with a chuckle.

Johnny put his hands up in mock surrender. “Fine, fine.”

They were both quiet for a moment before Johnny turned to go aid Kitty. “You should go rest for a while, you look awful actually.”

“Huh? Yeah, you’re probably right.” Phantom agreed. He was exhausted which, in all honestly, was pretty abnormal for a ghost. Phantom constantly felt like he was having his energy drained, even when he was doing nothing. Sometimes there were days he couldn’t leave his lair; it would just take too much out of him. No one could explain why this was occurring and Phantom assumed it probably had to do with the accident.

 

Danny made his way out of Kitty and Johnny’s place and over to his own, which was conveniently nearby. His lair was small, but everything he ever dreamed of. A lot resembled a planetarium; stars decorating the ceiling and walls. The furniture was a mixture of black and blues, and the lights could be changed from the typical bright white to dim blue tints. Bedding with a pattern of a galaxy was pushed back in to a cozy corner and a dark netting canopy hung above it. Replica planets glowed and floated about, giving the illusion you were walking in space. He kept his lair very personal, and very rarely had any guests over - exception of Johnny and Kitty who helped him establish it to begin with.

Danny plopped down on his bed haphazardly. Johnny and Kitty. They were some of the first ghosts to find him, unconscious, when he first arrived in the Ghost Zone. Danny originally freaked out on them, screaming for them to stay away. They were patient though, probably understanding how confusing it was to wake up in a totally different dimension. Once Kitty was able to calm him down, they explained where he was and broke the news to him that he was obviously… dead.

He was dead. It was such a strange concept to wrap your mind around. He constantly wondered what his friends and family dealt with after the accident. How did Sam and Tucker explain that to his parents? How did his parents explain that to the authorities? Did they recover his body? Was there even a body, or did they bury an empty casket? He rolled over and sighed. He missed them. He considered finding a natural portal, that some of the others spoke of, in attempt to access the human realm, but what would that gain? His parents were ghost hunters and, if anything, they’d try to destroy him. There was always Sam and Tucker though, but they have probably started to move on by now so he would just be reopening old wounds. Not to mention, it was probably a bit scary, the ghost of your dead bestfriend, coming back to say hey. Yeah, that’s probably not a very good idea.

They say death is a lonely thing, and while he missed his friends and family greatly, Danny would disagree. Between Kitty, Johnny, and the various other ghosts they have introduced to him, Danny was surrounded by a lot of friendly specters and had a lot of allies and neutral acquaintances.  Danny often times wondered what his life would have been like had he not been in the accident, however, he isn’t complaining about his life now.

No… actually things were pretty good, for well, being dead and all.

Danny closed his eyes as the unnatural exhaustion overtook him.

* * *

_“What do you think is wrong with it?” Tucker asked, staring in to emptiness of the portal._

_Danny shrugged. “Who knows? Could be anything, really. Loose connection, a part installed incorrectly, or maybe it is just a concept that wasn’t meant to ever truly work.” Danny said while, too, staring in to the machine._

_It was eerie and cold feeling, despite in not necessarily being cold in the lab._

_“You know, they’ve been working on it so much, they’re bound to look over things. You should give it a once over and see if you can catch anything.” Sam suggested._

_Danny sighed. It’s true; they had been working on this for years. They’re bound to overlook even the most obvious of things, just because they’ve become so familiar with it. It’s like reading your own work; you’ve read it so many times you look over the mistakes._

_Danny stood up and made his way over to the portal._

_“Do you think that’s a good idea? What if something happens?” Tucker questioned nervously._

_“Nothing is going to happen, Tucker. It’s not functional, and if Danny finds anything, he’ll just tell his parents and they can handle it.” Sam encouraged._

_Danny smiled at Tucker. “She’s right. I’ll only be a minute.” With that, he picked up a Hazmat suit that was thrown over a chair and slipped it on._

_He slowly entered the portal, scanning the interior. Creepy. It was really… creepy, yet, really fascinating. His parents truly were geniuses. The work that went in to it, the design, the wiring and structure, it was all truly remarkable. Danny ran his hands over the walls, taking in the details. Nothing, so far, seemed out of place._

_“I don’t see anything g-“ He stopped when he saw something on the other side._

_He came a little closer before he burst out laughing. “Guys! You’ll never believe this.” He called out. “There’s an on and off switch they forgot to hit. They based the design off the proto-portal, which was a stand-alone design, and the switch could be on the outside. They probably forgot they had to adjust the power function so that it was inside the portal, since this is structured in to the wall.”_

_Sam laughed. “Told you you’d find something. With all the work your parents put in to it, I couldn’t imagine it ‘just not working’.”_

_Danny turned to leave when he got a glimpse of something on the ground. He let out a sigh as he realized it was a wrench. He rolled his eyes as he walked over to pick it up. Obviously his father’s doing, who just leaves tools in side giant machines? Danny turned back around, now ready to exit, when his foot got caught on one of the cords running through the portal. Danny gasped as he dropped the wrench and fell forward. Instinctively his hands shot out in front of him, to break his fall. His right hand made contact with the wall and there was a click as he hit the ground._

_A click? Shit._

_There was a low humming, as the unnerving sound of a machine starting up filled the lab. Lights blinked on and Danny barely made it to his feet before-_

_There was a bright flash of light and a loud shriek filled the air._

_Electricity shot through him as his skin burned, and his eyes began to bleed. He couldn’t hear his voice, but he was sure he was screaming. It was agonizing beyond what he thought was possible. It felt like every inch of himself, down to the smallest molecules, was put in to a blender and torn apart. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, it felt like the world dropped out from under his feet. He was weightless, pain free, and he opened his eyes to find he was surrounded by nothing. Absolutely nothing, like a void. No, this wasn’t right. He felt comfort, but this wasn’t right. He could barely think as he clawed mindlessly at the nothingness that surrounded him, desperate to break free. He felt something tear at him and then, like the force of being thrown from a car, he made impact with a physical form. He was dazed as colors were dancing all around him. He turned in circles several times, trying to regain his bearings. No longer being in a blinding amount of pain, he finally walked forward and out of the portal._

_Out of the portal and in to the Ghost Zone._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This turned out a lot longer than I thought it would. Sorry it's going to progress a bit slower, I actually am enjoyed establishing bonds. I promise we'll get to the badger cereal eventually. Anyway, I feel like I have things to say, but it's after 1am and I can't really think straight, haha.
> 
> Warning: language, death mentions, alcohol use, and underage drinking

Danny shot up with a gasp as he awoke from his dream. It had been a while since he dreamt of his death, curse Johnny for bringing it up.

He groaned as he looked around his lair. How long had he been asleep? No one came to get him, so he assumed not too long. That was one huge downside to the Ghost Zone - judging time was near impossible. The phrase, “time is just a concept” really applied here, though it was a pain if you were trying to arrange a gathering.

He slowly made his way out of his bed and over to a small closet-like area. Shortly after arriving he did away with the Hazmat suit, it just felt too cliché super-hero-esque for just roaming around. Strangely, clothes were pretty easy to obtain in the Ghost Zone. And by obtain I mean, all you really had to do was focus and envision them and there you go. They kind of went along with lairs. Danny kept a handful on him, though he was never one for having an overabundance of clothing. He chose combat boots, dark skinny jeans, a black t-shirt that he tucked in to his pants, and accompanied it with a belt. He fluffed his hair a bit, ridding it of traces of sleep, before heading to exit his home.

 

He made his way over to Johnny and Kitty’s lair and, not even bothering to knock, walked right in; he knew they were expecting him. As soon as he passed through the door way he heard Kitty’s voice call to him from farther inside.

“Phantom! You’re late!” She scolded from the other side of the room.

Danny frowned as he caught sight of several other ghosts that were already present. “I’m sorry, I fell in to a deeper sleep than I intended.”

Johnny walked over and pushed him towards the couch. “Don’t worry about it, you’re not that late. If you were, I would have come and gotcha. Anyway, Spectra and Bertrand aren’t even here yet.”

Danny sat down on the sofa in between Johnny and Technus.

“Hey baby-pops, you don’t look so hot.” Ember commented from where she was seated on the love couch next to Skulker.

“Oh I’m just tired, like usual.” Danny answered with a smile.

“So I take it you never figured out the issue?” Skulker questioned.

Danny shrugged. “Nah, I never really attempted to figure it out.” He waved his hand dismissively.

He sort of hoped the issue would just resolve itself; nevertheless, it seemed to be getting worse. While he wanted answers, no ghost seemed to really understand why it was so. Most blamed it on him being too active or overexerting beyond his level. Danny passed it off as that, however, he knew that wasn’t the case. There were days he’d do practically nothing and still fall in to this exhaustion.

Kitty and Desiree moved from the kitchen and brought over a handful of snacks and drinks.

Oh yeah, that was a thing, ghosts had food and drink. Sure, it wasn’t a necessity, but it was still a pleasure. Most resembled what you’d find in the human world; they were parallels after all.

Desiree sat on the armrest of the love seat, next to Ember, and Kitty situated herself between Danny and Johnny, despite the lack of room. Danny laughed as she sat half on Johnny and half on the sofa leaning in to Danny.

They all reached for various snacks and Technus, at some point got up, retrieved an extra chair, and sat off to the side to give Kitty room on the couch.

“Technus, you didn’t have to move.” Kitty commented with false offense.

“I, Technus, could not just let you be crowded like that.” He gave a dismissive shrug.

“A true gentleman.” Desiree replied sarcastically.

Danny laughed. “Oh? Or did you not want to be so close to me?” Danny clicked his tongue. “I see how it is.”

“Child, don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to.” Technus answered with a smirk.

“What is that suppose to mean?” Danny questioned, a bit surprised.

“Trust me whelp, it’s Technus, you don’t want to know. It will probably be long-winded anyway.”

Before Danny had time to press on Kitty jumped in, “oh Phantom! This is Desiree!” She introduced while motioning to the genie.

Danny smiled. “Nice to meet you Desiree, I believe we’ve been acquainted once before.”

Desiree stared at him for a moment before realization settled in. “Oh. Were you the one who angered a swarm of ghost bees right in front of my lair?” She asked bitterly.

“Okay, wow, you left out that part.” Kitty commented while glaring at Phantom.

“It was an accident, I swear! I’m so sorry! Believe me, I paid for that one.” Danny defended.

“If I recall correctly, that wasn’t just you, was it?” Ember added while glancing up at her boyfriend.

“Okay, look, how was I supposed to know that there was a nest there?” Skulker said.

Desiree rolled her eyes. “Uh-huh.”

“I’m sure the whole ordeal turned out better for Skulker with that fancy suit of his.” Technus commented.

“Oh yeah.” Danny replied wide-eyed, remembering the ordeal.

He had begged Skulker to let him go hunting with him, since the concept seemed so strange to Danny. With a great deal of convincing, Skulker finally agreed to let Danny tag along. Somewhere along the way, Skulker allowed Danny to shoot a gun. He gave him the coordinates and everything. Unfortunately, the target ended up in the direct line of bees. Even more unfortunately, it happened to occur right in front of Desiree’s home. Danny was sure Skulker was more traumatized by the genie’s reaction than the bees. Danny, however, was pretty preoccupied with the bees given he had no sort of armor. Bees, really, of all things?

Before the conversation could continue there was a knock at the door. Kitty shot up and quickly answered it.

“Hey! Come in, we’re just talking.” Kitty greeted.

Danny looked over to find two figures standing in the doorway. They gave their greetings before making their way over to where everyone was sitting. Kitty grabbed two more chairs and dragged them over. The woman nodded in appreciation, but walked over to Danny and extended her hand.

“Spectra. Penelope Spectra. Pleased to meet you Phantom.” She said with a sly smile.

Danny hesitated as a wave of sadness hit him as he gazed at her appearance. He attempted to shake off the thoughts and he reached to take her hand. “Pleasure’s all mi-” He began, but as their hands met he felt as if something was drained from him, and his sadness seemed to deepen.

Spectra yanked her hand back, surprised. “Oh my, I’m sorry. Did I do something to upset you?” She questioned, honestly curious, but also slightly amused.

“Did… did you just feed off of him?” Johnny butted in, realizing what happened.

Spectra scoffed as she made her way to her seat next to Bertrand. “It was an accident; that sort of power gain has never happened with a ghost. Though, he seemed fine before I walked in, so… what did I do?” She looked back over at Danny.

He shook his head still a bit confused. “Power gain?”

“She’s a parasite ghost. She feeds off the energy of other beings.” Ember commented while glancing between the two.

Danny scowled. “You were feeding off my energy?”

Spectra rolled her eyes. “I usually feed off the misery of humans and can absorb it just by touching them. As I absorb the energy, whatever is causing them grief, tends to sink its roots even deeper. I can feed off of other ghosts too, however it’s not as fruitful and a little harder to do. Like I said, what just happened with you was an accident, and something that’s only ever happened with humans. Honestly, I’m a bit confused myself.” Spectra confessed.

“Well this is awkward.” Danny commented.

“Okay, but what _did_ she do? You seemed fine before she walked in? Not trying to pry, but-” Technus commented.

Danny glanced around the room to find that everyone was starting at him. Okay, _really_ awkward. “Her hair. It reminded me of my mother and sister, they both had fiery red hair as well. It just made me think of them is all; it was nothing.” Danny informed a little blankly.

Spectra smirked, but didn’t say anything.

“Aww, you miss home? You really are a baby-ghost.” Bertrand commented.

Danny rolled his eyes and scowled at the smaller ghost.

“Hey now, this is suppose to be a fun time!” Kitty scolded.

Both Spectra and Bertrand put their hands up in surrender. However, Danny could still feel Spectra’s eyes upon him. Oh yeah, they weren’t going to get along.

“Sounds like everyone needs a drink, to be honest.” Johnny commented under your breath.

Danny looked at him. “Like alcohol?”

“No. Apple juice. Of course alcohol!” Johnny commented sarcastically.

“There is alcohol in the Ghost Zone?” Danny was honestly amazed. Man, his parents would _love_ to know things like this.

Spectra, Kitty, and Desiree got out of their seats and made their way to the kitchen to grab the drinks and cups.

“But like, can ghosts get drunk?” Danny questioned as they began bringing things over.

“You bet kiddo.” Ember answered while examining some of the bottles. “It’s a little different than human alcohol, but basically the same concept.”

“Okay, but I’m underage.” Danny stated.

“Child, you are dead.” Technus responded.

“But-“ Danny began, as Johnny placed a cup in his hand.

“Seriously, dude you’re dead, it doesn’t matter.”  He said while encouraging Danny to try it.

“Age is a strange thing in the Ghost Zone anyway. You know Youngblood right?” Ember questioned.

Danny nodded.

“Okay, well he’s technically older than Technus.” She stated while she began pouring a drink.

“Wait, what?” Danny looked over at Technus.

“Actually, besides you, I think Technus is the youngest amongst us.” Ember added. “So, honestly, forget that you were ever even, what? Fourteen?”

“Uh, yeah, but thing is I’d still technically be fourteen had I not died.” Danny continued.

“Man, this kid is a lot less fun than he looks.” Bertrand commented as both him and Spectra took a sip of their drinks.

Danny glared over at them before raising his cup to his lips.

“There you go.” Spectra said with a laugh.

 

They all continued to talk and drink and Danny barely noticed when someone switched out his empty cup for a new drink. Johnny would have him try different mixes here and there, seeing what sort of taste Danny had. Despite the previous tension, they all fell in to easy conversation.

“So, on a scale from 1 to 10. 10 being smashed, how drunk are you?” Johnny questioned.

“Uh, I don’t know, maybe a 5?” Danny answered. He had never been drinking before, obviously, so he wasn’t sure.

“So, is that enough to tell us how you died or should we give you something stronger?” Johnny nudged.

Danny seemed to consider it for a moment before shaking his head.

“Okay, okay. What if we all tell you how we died? Nothing in great detail, but just so you don’t feel like it’s just you.” Ember suggested.

“Seems fair, honestly.” Desiree said.

Danny considered it for a moment before nodding. “Alright.” He agreed.

“Right so, I guess I’ll go first.” Kitty offered. “Well, I guess I’m speaking for both me and Johnny. We were in a motorcycle accident. It was pretty late at night and Johnny-” She glared over at her boyfriend. “-Was speeding.”

“I said I’m sorry babe!” Johnny apologized before looking over at Desiree to continue so they didn’t start a fight.

Danny shook his head. He honestly assumed that much about their deaths.

Desiree seemed to consider something for a moment before answering. “Broken heart. I died of a broken heart.” She said while taking a big swig of her drink.

“And old age.” Spectra added while smiling at the genie.

Desiree gave her a scowl. “Sure, that too.”

Ember took a sip of her drink before placing it on the table in front of her. “My house caught on fire and I didn’t realize it. I had been too exhausted from the previous night of being stood-up.”

“Stood up? I’m finding that a bit hard to believe.” Danny said.

“Well believe it baby-pops. I can’t say I was very popular in my human life.” She said while looking over at Skulker.

Skulker sighed. “Hunting accident. A buddy of mine was a little… jumpy. Accidentally shot me.”

“Okay, I’m actually not surprised.” Danny confessed.

“No one ever is.” Ember stated.

Skulker scoffed and gestured over to Technus who waved his hand in the air absent-mindedly.

“I worked for a computer developing company. There was... an elevator accident.”

“That wasn’t what I was expecting.” Kitty said what everyone was thinking.

“Huh, I really thought your death would have been, I don’t know, like electrocution or something. Or rather, a little more technology oriented?” Desiree said.

“Well, it was a technological issue that caused the accident, if that counts for anything.” Technus informed.

“So wait, it like, fell?” Danny asked.

“No, actually the doors slammed shut and it shot upward. It’s actually extremely rare for elevators to fall. Almost near impossible.”

A couple of them seemed to cringe before their attention was directed to Bertrand.

Bertrand looked at all of them, as if he really did not want to answer.

“Come on, you have to, we all did.” Johnny said.

“Drive-by. A man, whose girlfriend I apparently had I fling with, shot me while I walked out of my workplace. The whole thing is a bit blurry.” He said dismissively before eyeing Spectra.

“Must I?” Spectra said with a frown.

“No, but I mean, I’ll just assume you were some prostitute that got murdered and now has to fill the void with beauty and the misery of others to make up for where she went wrong.” Danny said with a mocking smile.

Spectra glowered. “Fine. I was a model. I was murdered on my way home from a gig.”

“So, I wasn’t that far off.” Danny commented insensitively.

Spectra picked up and threw some sort of snack with icing on, hitting Danny right in the face.

Johnny and Technus burst out laughing while Ember muffled hers with her hand.

“Really…?” Danny commented as he removed the icing from his face.

“You’re a little rat.” Spectra insulted, but without conviction.

“Well, now that we got that over with, it’s your turn Phantom.” Desiree said while everyone’s eyes settled on Danny.

He sighed. “My parents were scientists. I was in their lab and near a machine that I shouldn’t have been near. It suddenly turned on and I was electrocuted. Well, that’s what I’m assuming happened anyway.” Danny answered very vaguely.

“Yikes. That’s unfortunate.” Johnny commented, trying to seem sympathetic.

Danny shrugged. “Like I said, I wasn’t supposed to be there, so it was entirely my fault.”

“Well, I think we need something to lighten the mood a bit, that was a bit of a buzz kill.” Ember said while standing up to turn on the radio.

The sound of music filled them home, and instantly it felt a bit livelier.

“Hell yeah I love this song!” Kitty said while jumping to her feet. She grabbed Danny and pulled him off the couch as well.

“What are we doing?” Danny questioned as she dragged him to an opening.

“Dancing!” She said while trying to encourage him to dance with her.

Danny looked over at Johnny who looked slightly annoyed.

“Don’t give me that Johnny, you never dance with me.” She commented while sticking her tongue out at him.

“Oh yeah?” Johnny said while standing up to join them.

Danny stepped away from Kitty and both Ember and Desiree got up to join them.

“Hey Technus, you should act as our DJ and find us some good music.” Kitty encouraged.

“You got it, missy.” He said while getting up as well.

Danny looked at Skulker and Bertrand who were still sitting. Skulker seemed to have his eyes on Ember, and looked like he was enjoying himself despite the lack of participation. Bertrand just looked uncomfortable.

Wait where was Spe-

Danny didn’t have time to even turn around as arms wrapped around him. “Want to dance?” Spectra’s seductive voice whispered from behind.

“Depends, are you going to feed off my misery again?” Danny said while pulling away.

“Nah, you seem to be in a better mood.” She offered out her hand. “I suggest you take me up on this offer while I’m not sober; it may not pass you by again.”

Danny wasn’t sober either, and he knew it. Thankfully Johnny cut him off at some point, worried about his limits. He took her hand and he could feel Bertrand glaring daggers in to her back.

“So, uh, you don’t want to dance with your boyfriend?” Danny questioned.

Spectra laughed. “Boyfriend? Please. We’re not an item. He just gets jealous easily.” She said while wrapping her arms around Danny’s neck.

Danny tensed up a bit.

Spectra noticed and grabbed a drink off the table. “Seems like you’re not quite there yet.” She said while handing him the glass.

Stupidly, Danny willingly drank it.

The hours crept on and they danced well in to the night. Even Bertrand joined them when he decided Spectra had been giving Danny too much attention. Even Ember managed to get Skulker to dance with her at least once. By then everyone was too drunk to realize how hilarious that was.  She even sung for them, which was nice. It was cool to hear Ember sing in a personal setting. Somewhere along the way Spectra refilled Danny’s cup, and the only reason he noticed was because as he took another sip the thought, “she’s hot” ran across his mind, and that is only something that could happen when he had way more to drink than intended.  He was happy though. It was strange being around more than two people. He did not want to admit that dying honestly seemed like a good thing, but… honestly it seemed like a good thing. No one here cared if you were strange, I mean, they were _all_ strange. You just found who you clicked with, and that was that.

 

Eventually, god only knows when, they all began to wind down and head out. Danny sat on the sofa beside Kitty, no longer able to remain upright. Johnny was going on about, “there is a reason I cut you off,” but Danny really wasn’t listening.

Spectra, before leaving, approached Danny and kissed his hand. “Pleasure to meet you Phantom. Hope you feel okay in the morning.” She said with a wicked smile before leaving with an annoyed Bertrand.

Desiree also said her farewells, saying how he “wasn’t as bad as she initially thought.” Which Danny took as a compliment.

Once everyone was gone Kitty came and tossed a blanket and pillow at Danny who was still seated on the sofa. “I don’t imagine you’re going home tonight.”

Danny sort of just fell over with a nod. Yeah he was starting not to feel very good and he wasn’t sure if he could even walk.

Kitty, who wanted to be mad, instead gave a light laugh. “Well, goodnight. I hope you had fun.” She said while giving him a light hug, and heading towards the bedroom.

Johnny gave him a pat on the shoulder before following Kitty.

Danny closed his eyes and the room seemed to spin. Lovely, it was going to be a long night. However, eventually Danny was able to fall asleep. 

* * *

 

_It was dark. Everything was spinning and he felt himself growing nauseous. Someone was calling his name from the distance, though he could not make out whose it was or what they were saying. His body ached and his head was pounding._

_“Danny! Danny!” The voice grew louder._

_Sam? He tried to open his eyes, but his world remained black._

_Crying. Was someone crying? There was more screaming and someone was yelling to shut it down._

_Shut what down?_

_Danny turned and walked forward, feeling a draw to whatever was in front of him._

_“Danny!” One last voice called out to him, which sounded like his mother._

_More spinning, more nausea, more pain, and then… there was nothing._

* * *

 

 The next morning Johnny and Kitty found Danny glued to a trashcan, puking what little he had in his stomach.

Kitty pushed back his hair while Johnny went to get some water.

“Fuck Spectra.” He mumbled before dry heaving in to the basket.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter to refer to things I sometimes say “theirs” and “them”. I did not really establish this, or make it clear, but it’s basically referencing Kitty and Johnny’s social circle as a whole. The group includes Danny, Spectra, Bertrand, Desiree, Ember, Skulker, Technus, and potentially others. I was a little unclear about that – but I did not know how else to word it.

Days crept on and Danny’s life, or after life, continued on like normal. Well, mostly normal. He found himself sleeping more and more, and he had to admit, it was beginning to become quite alarming. He had been here 8 months now, and still, no one understood what could possibly be wrong. No one seemed to have any knowledge of this issue before; it was just his luck. He simply hoped that if he slept enough he could regain enough energy to eventually get better. Well, that was if it was a sickness. Oh yeah, that was another thing; there were a variety of spectral illnesses that ghosts could contract. Weird.

Danny closed his eyes as he leaned against a tree. Cujo slept in his lap and Danny ran his hand gently over the ghost puppy’s head. Danny had found him wondering around his lair shortly after his anniversary party. Originally, he had been a bit terrified, seeing what the dog could do when in a defensive position. However, Danny quickly discovered that the dog appeared to have some sort of attachment to him. After a couple weeks of the dog randomly showing up inside his lair, Danny finally caved and allowed him to stay. There was no sense in fighting it considering the puppy appeared to be able to dig through doorways anyway. Danny sighed.

“Dude, are you okay?” Johnny questioned, seeing the lack of enthusiasm Danny appeared to have for the day.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just tired like usual.”

“Man, I wish we could figure out what’s wrong, you’re starting to scare me.” Johnny said while fiddling with something on his bike.

“Like I said Johnny, worrying is very strange on you.” Danny replied, while opening his eyes.

Johnny rolled his eyes. “We can do something shortly. Maybe a little adrenaline will help you.”

Danny frowned. “Maybe…” He really didn’t have much hope though.

Johnny adjusted a part before turning to Danny. “Lets go meet up with the girls, maybe they’ll have an idea of what to do.”

“Spectra isn’t there, right?” Danny questioned.

“Still bitter I see.” Johnny commented with a smirk.

“Okay, look, she so did that on purpose.” Danny stated exasperated.

He had only seen Spectra once after the party and she made sure to bring up the unsightly state she lured him in to. Given, it probably was his fault considering Johnny had cut him off, but still. She was such a bitch about it and it was really rubbing Danny the wrong way. Unfortunately, she seemed to be good friends with both Kitty and Ember, despite her lack of presence most of the time, so Danny basically had to suck it up.

“I actually don’t know if she’ll be there or not, to be honest. I think we should go regardless, there is no sense in wasting time here.” Johnny said while finishing up with what he was messing with on his bike.

Danny carefully picked Cujo up and placed him in the spectral grass and the puppy whined at him briefly before resuming sleep. Danny patted his head and said he’d be back later before standing up.

Johnny straddled the bike and started it up while glancing over at a very weary Phantom. He sighed, as if considering something before looking back at Danny. “Get on.”

“Excuse me?” Danny questioned.

Johnny cocked his head back indicating Phantom should get on the back. “I said get on. There’s no need to use up what little energy you have left.”

Danny couldn’t help the playful smile that crept across his face. “Wow, I never thought I’d see the day where I was allowed to get near your bike, let alone ride it.”

“Oh just get on before I change my mind.” Johnny scoffed.

Danny did as he was told and got on the back.

Without any warning Johnny sped forward, nearly throwing Danny off. Danny gasped and instinctively threw his arms around Johnny in attempt to not completely eat it.

“On a scale of one to ten, how awkward would it be if I kept my arms around you?” Danny questioned with a nervous laugh. Truth me told he honestly did not trust himself to not doze off and lose balance, despite the fact that the seat had a backrest.

“Just… if anyone asks this never happened. Alright?”

“Right.” Danny laughed.

* * *

 

The Ghost Zone seemed like an abyss of nothing at first glance, but once you’ve been there long enough, you’ll find that it is far more than that. Scattered about are islands that all vary in size and, when you travel deep enough, you can find a superfluity of various lands and climates. One of their favorites was a particular island they called Elisium. It was a small island, but one of the more beautiful ones. It was tropical, rather isolated, and acted as a mid-way point for all their lairs. It was somewhere to escape and there was a decent size natural pool located in the center of the island where they often times went swimming. The water was crystal blue, with a slight spectral glow, making it all the more ethereal. For the realm of the dead, the Ghost Zone had a lot of life to it. It was their own private paradise and no other ghosts outside of their group ventured there. Not that they would let them; it was silently established that it belonged to just them. There were things the Ghost Zone lacked, but there was also the otherworldly beauty of the Ghost Zone that humans could not fully comprehend until they were submersed in it.

Ember sat on the side of the pool, her feet hanging in the water. Her hair was down, covering her shoulders, and blending with her blue bikini. Kitty was beside her, in the pool, with her arms resting on the land outside with the skirt of her black one-piece suit floating elegantly in the water. Spectra was a little distance away, laying peacefully in the grass. Her dark red swimsuit accenting her body with cut outs that made it more like a bikini than a one piece. Her hair was un-styled and lying flat, just above her shoulders.

“So…” Kitty broke the silence. “You never told me how you and Skulker became a thing.”

Ember let out a sigh. “Honestly, it’s not as interesting of a story as everyone thinks it would be. Mostly we just ended up talking, and it progressed from there.”

“That’s a bit disappointing.” Kitty commented while looking up at Ember.

“You know what is probably an interesting story? Penelope and Bertrand.” Ember said while looking over at Spectra.

Spectra scoffed loudly. “There is no story because we’re not a thing.”

“Yeah, but you’re still partners, and that alone seems odd.” Kitty said.

Spectra sat up and stared at them. “Okay, but what about you and Phantom? To me that seems odd.”

“What about him? We’re friends.” Kitty responded with a curious frown.

“’Sweetie…” Spectra said with a mocking grin.

“So you’re going to sit here and tell me you have no feelings for him what so ever?” Ember questioned.

Kitty gasped. “I’m in love with Johnny!”

“Doesn’t mean you can’t have both.” Spectra stated with a shrug.

“You guys are terrible!” Kitty cried while splashing water Spectra’s direction. “And what about you Miss ‘I was all up on Phantom at the party’!”

“Hey! I just wanted to see how far he’d go. I wasn’t disappointed, then again, he’s such a typical boy.” Spectra jeered.

“You know, I’m starting to get the feeling you don’t like boys Spectra.” Ember commented with an insinuative smirk.

Kitty tried to hide her laugh and Spectra shot up.

“Oh no you didn’t pop-princess.” Spectra got to her feet and made her way over to Ember.

Ember tried to move, but before she could, Spectra had hooked her arms under hers.

“Don’t you dare!” Ember scolded, but in vain. In one swift motion Ember was in the pool.

Kitty squeaked as water splashed around her.

“Penelope! You bitch!” Ember yelled while she pushed her hair out of her face.

Spectra laughed.

“Oh come on, it’s just a bit of water.” Kitty commented with a giggle.

Before the conversation could continue, they were cut off by the sound of an engine coming near them.

“Speaking of boys, it looks like they’ve come to play.” Spectra said while Johnny’s motorcycle came in to view.

Ember laughed. “Looks like Johnny may steal Phantom away before you do, Kitty.”

Kitty just rolled her eyes.

Johnny turned off his bike and Danny quickly jumped off, more than eager to be on solid ground.

They both casually walked up to the pool where the girls were hanging.

“We’re not interrupting anything, are we?” Johnny questioned.

“Nah, we were just… talking.” Kitty said while both her and Ember looked up at Spectra who scoffed and turned away.

Danny raised an eyebrow. “Okay, seems like a pleasant conversation.”

Johnny sat down beside the pool and Danny joined him.

“What are you doing here? Not that we mind, but you obviously didn’t come to swim.” Kitty questioned while gesturing to their clothes.

“Phantom was tired so I figured we’d find something to do to keep him awake.” Johnny answered.

“Does that even work though?” Spectra questioned while sitting next to Danny.

Danny eyed her and she pretended not to notice. “Not really, but we didn’t have anything to do either.”

“Well we’ve been here a while, we can totally find something more engaging to do.”

“No, no! It’s fine!” Danny protested.

Ember shrugged as she made her way out of the pool. “Please save us the awkward laid back ‘bonding’ time and allow us to find something else to entertain us.”

“Wow, I think we missed something good.” Johnny said while looking at all three girls who were eyeing each other.

Kitty eventually rolled her eyes and got out of the pool as well.

“We’ll be right back!” Kitty informed as they went to dry off and change in to casual clothes, leaving Johnny and Danny to hang by the pool.

“What if I pushed you in?” Danny questioned while looking at the water.

“Don’t you dare, dude.”

“Can you swim?” Danny asked.

“Uh yes? Why?”

Danny shrugged. “Just curious. I was just thinking about how one of my human friends didn’t know how to swim. We pushed him in the pool once, thinking he would just ‘get it’. I ended up having to jump in and save him and we both almost drowned in the process.” Danny laughed lightly at the memory. Tucker was so frantic he made it almost impossible for Danny to help him. Meanwhile, Sam had literally just stood there laughing; she didn’t even throw them a pool noodle or anything!

Silence fell between them, only to be broken when they heard a yell. Both boys shot to their feet as they saw the three girls running their direction.

“What’s going on?” Johnny questioned frantically.

“Walker! He’s coming this way!” Kitty cried.

“Walker? Who’s Walker?” Danny asked, alarmed by the urgency in her voice.

“The Ghost Zone’s warden. Basically he finds any reason to incarcerate you because he’s a power-hungry pig. I don’t know why he would be here though?” Ember said, a touch of unease in her voice.

“Who knows, but it always spells trouble. We really need to go.” Spectra encouraged.

However before they could make their escape, a voice called out to them.

“Freeze!” A guard cried.

Johnny swore under his breath as he brought himself closer to Kitty.

“You’re trespassing on restricted land and that’s against the rules.” Walker stated as he came in to view.

“Are you kidding me? There’s no way!” Kitty yelled defiantly.

“You five are going to have to come with me.”

Spectra scoffed and everyone seemed to be glancing at each other to figure out what to do.

“He’ll imprison us for God knows how long. I think all of us, exception of Phantom, already have past offenses with him. We can not allow him to arrest us.” Ember stated under her breath.

“We’re only outnumbered by one, I think we can handle it if we split up and try to lose them.” Johnny said while they began closing in.

Danny put his hands above his head in surrender while looking at the others to do the same. Johnny made a move to stop him, but Danny jabbed his elbow in to his side. Johnny seemed offended for a moment before he realized what Danny was suggesting. Johnny followed suit and nudged Kitty to do the same. She did with hesitance, and Ember and Spectra did the same. Walker and his guards approached them and casually reached out to detain them, thinking they would go passively. However, Danny quickly shot his hand out, grabbing one of the ghost guards, and yanking him forward. The other four, did similar, catching the officers all off guard.

Walker hissed and the guards reached for their clubs.

Danny shot several ecto-blasts at two guards who were after Kitty, causing their attention to be drawn towards him.

“Get them!” Walker ordered, as Danny began to attack and Spectra and Ember began to flee.

A guard managed to catch up to them, grabbing Ember by the hair and yanking her back.

Danny turned to help, but was stopped when someone harshly seized his arm.

“Well, well, who do we have here? I haven’t seen your face in the Ghost Zone before.” Walker drawled.

Danny attempted to pull away and he could hear Spectra yelling in the distance.

“Let go, we’ve done nothing wrong!” Danny threw his weight forward, knocking Walker off balance, and causing him to release his grip

“Why you little punk-!”

Danny whipped around just in time to find a guard raising one of his clubs to him. It made contact with his shoulder and he was sent tumbling backwards.

Two guards had Johnny and Kitty on the ground while Spectra and Ember were still putting up a fight.

Before Danny could regain himself, a foot was pressed to his chest. “I suggest you learn your place punk. Here in the Ghost Zone I am your judge, executioner, jury, executioner, jailer, and if necessary; your executioner!” Walker said while applying more pressure to Danny’s chest.

Danny struggled to break from his grasp, but with little to show. He turned just in time to see Ember being tossed to the ground as well, her blue hair hanging loosely in knots. Spectra, her hands pinned behind her firmly, being forcefully restrained by one of the guards, was struggling in vain.

“Now that we’ve got you punks under control, this can go a lot smoother.” Walker sneered.

Danny glared up at Walker fleetingly, before wrapping his hand around Walker’s ankle and heating it with ecto-energy. Walker cursed and stumbled backwards, while Danny quickly got back on his feet. The guard that was still un-occupied fired an ecto-Taser at Danny, leaving him stunned. The guard wasted no time before beating Danny with the club, in attempt to hinder any further action.

Ember pulled herself to her knees and began screaming for them to stop.

This acted as a good distraction and Johnny managed to get away from the guard who had him detained and make his way over to Danny. Johnny casted his shadow, which wrapped itself around Walker, who was now straight up pissed, and reached for the club in the guard’s hand.

Danny clutched his side and stumbled back, falling near where Ember was situated on the ground. Ember, looked up just in time to catch a glimpse of something forming, and immediately pulled Danny towards her, despite the guard’s protests.

“We’re going to flee.” She whispered.

Danny just stared at her, still dazed.

She adjusted her glance to where the energy was beginning to form and Danny followed her eyes for a moment, before she made him turn back to her.

“Natural portal. Once it’s big enough, we’ll flee. Our window of opportunity is very slim though, so move fast.”

Danny nodded slowly while Ember was yanked backwards.

“Stay away!” The guard ordered, not liking their whispering.

Kitty, who had been watching them and also noting the portal, picked up on what they were planning to do.

They just needed to be able to break away…

As if someone was answering their plea for an escape, there was a loud growling sound and the ground began to shake.

They all turned to find a very large Cujo barreling towards them.

The guards immediately turned their attention to the giant dog, giving their captives a window of opportunity to get away.

“Don’t let them go!” Walker barked, but it was too late.

“Go! Now!” Ember yelled, blasting the distracted guard, as she raced towards the portal.

Kitty followed and Johnny was close behind, calling back his shadow.

Spectra, however, was still struggling to break free. Danny turned when he found her not following, and made a move to help.

“Go! I’ll be fine!” She scolded, not trusting him not to get them both arrested.

Danny hesitated while Kitty screamed at him to hurry up before she followed Johnny and Ember in to the portal.

“Just go you little freak! I can handle myself!” She spat.

Danny, with great hesitance, turned away and headed towards the portal, just avoiding a net that was sent his direction.

He gave one last glance towards Spectra, and Cujo, before following behind the others and making it through just before the portal closed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is out way later than I had intended, I’m very sorry. I kind of hit a wall with this chapter, and eventually just had to give up. Good news though, we're getting closer to the Badger Cereal I had originally mentioned~


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize in advance, Word decided it wasn't going to correct spelling anymore, so I'm sorry for any mistakes despite proof-reading a million times.

Danny stumbled and fell to the ground as soon as he passed through the portal. Pain throbbed through out his body from being struck multiple times, though his wounds had begun to heal themselves

“Phantom!” Kitty cried while kneeling down next to Danny.

“Well… how about that for adrenaline?” Johnny joked, though his voice lacked humor.

“Great. This is what I had hoped wouldn’t happen.” Ember said while folding her arms.

Danny slowly got to his feet. The atmosphere around them had changed and everything seemed heavier, so to speak. “Where are we?” He questioned, a little confused by the sudden change.

“Human realm, kiddo. I was hoping the portal lead to somewhere else in the Ghost Zone, but we didn’t really have luck on our side.” Ember answered while glaring over at Johnny who rolled his eyes.

“How are we supposed to get back?” Kitty asked, alarmed.

Ember scowled. “We’ll have to find another portal.”

“Lovely. We are lucky that one even appeared. On top of that, natural portals are more common in the Ghost Zone than the human world, so the chances of finding one here is next to none! We’re never going to get back.” Kitty scolded.

“Calm down! We’ll be fine!” Ember snapped. “Look, Skulker has an employer who I believe has access to some sort of portal. If we figure out where we are, we can locate him.” She informed.

Kitty seemed to relax slightly and they surveyed the area for a brief moment. They appeared to have entered in an alley, out of sight, which was fortunate. Last thing they needed was to draw attention right from the start before they could figure out what they needed to do.

“Alright! Step one; find out where the Hell we are. I mean it’s not like we can just walk up and ask someone considering _we’re dead_.” Johnny stated while wrapping an arm around Danny who was swaying.

Ember scoffed and gestured for them to follow her towards the entrance of the alley.

The moment they reached the edge Danny gasped.

“What!? What’s wrong!?” Kitty questioned.

“I know where we are…” Danny said in disbelief.

“You do?” Johnny asked, surprised.

Danny nodded. “We’re in Amity Park, my home town.”

“Are you serious? That seems like too much of a coincidence.” Kitty stated.

Danny shook his head. “Actually, not really. See, my parents were, uh, ghost _enthusiasts_. They came to Amity Park because of the rumors of high paranormal activity. They mentioned once that they believed there was some sort of tear in the dimension here, thus why the frequent ghost sightings. No one believed them though, most don’t believe in ghosts, despite the stories.” Danny explained.

“I see, so it would make sense for portals to open up here because of that tear. Come to think of it, Amity Park actually sounds familiar, like it’s been mentioned before in the Ghost Zone.” Johnny said while looking at Danny curiously. “You didn’t mention you were familiar with ghosts before you died.”

“Well, it’s kind of awkward. You see, I didn’t believe in ghosts either.” Danny confessed.

“Definitely awkward.” Ember said.

Danny opened his mouth to respond, but the words quickly died before they reached his lips. His body seemed to be growing heavy, and his head began spinning, and he leaned farther in to Johnny for support. “I really don’t feel well.” He mumbled. He honestly felt like his entire existence was going to give out.

“Ugh, bad timing Phantom.” Johnny said while adjusting the their position.

“It looks like it’s getting dark, is there somewhere secluded nearby we can hang in, out of sight, until we can figure out what we’re doing? I rather not hang out in a dingy alleyway.” Kitty questioned.

“Why out of sight? That’s no fun.” Ember said with a mischievous smirk.

Johnny laughed. “I kind of agree, but I don’t think Phantom can keep up.”

“I’m not saying cause trouble, just… make them question what they saw.” Ember said with a shrug.

Danny pushed himself away from Johnny’s hold. “There is a park about a mile from here.” He informed, while gesturing towards the direction.

“Nightfall is approaching, I’m sure we’ll be concealed.” Kitty observed.

Ember shrugged outwardly disappointed. “Fine.”

Johnny looked over at Phantom, noting that he looked ready to faint. “Will you be okay to relocate? You honestly look awful.”

Danny nodded slowly. “I’ll be fine.”

They seemed hesitant, but decided it wasn’t worth sticking around here.

“Very well, let’s head out.” Johnny said while turning invisible.

Everyone followed suit and made their way out of the alleyway, unaware of the blinking censor that had been triggered upon their arrival.

* * *

 

Jazz looked down at her homework while repositioning herself on the living room couch. It was one of those evenings where she had too much on her mind to and found herself a bit on edge. She’d get it done, she always did, but it was going to be a long night.  She looked towards the direction of the basement door; she could hear her parents shuffling through things and wondered if that meant they would be heading out. She contemplated going downstairs, since homework wasn’t an option right now, but quickly dismissed the idea. She hadn’t been down there since Danny died. Her parents didn’t go in to the basement for almost 2 months after Danny’s death either, and she was convinced they would give up ghost hunting all together. However, they needed something to distract themselves from the loss of their son, and slowly, but surely, they picked it back up. Her father got back in to the swing of things a lot quicker than her mother, who took Danny’s death with great inelegance, and they feared she would not bounce back. However, ghost sightings were becoming more and more common, basically forcing her to re-assume the role of ghost hunter. Ghosts were entering the human realm through natural portals, wrecking havoc, and causing property damage. The city hired them to keep track and manage these, now not-so-abnormal, occurrences. They took special measures to know when a ghost accessed their world to reduce ghost-related damage. Censors were set up all over Amity Park, which picked up on both portal activity and ecto-signatures, sending a signal back to the Fenton’s, who then would track the ghosts before they had time to cause any major damage. It was efficient, and they were quite skilled at handling it quickly, though they found themselves out late more often than not. When not taking care of the ghost pest problem, they continued to conduct their own research, which was especially interesting if they could detain a ghost and run physical testing on it. It got them by, so Jazz didn’t really complain when she didn’t get to see her parents much. Jazz considered joining them with their research, just to spend time with them, but she couldn’t bear to be around the very thing that had killed her little brother. They considered completely dismantling the portal, but no matter how much they talked about it, it just felt wrong. So, it remained assembled, but deactivated, with its eerie sense of death lingering around. She supposed they assumed it would be useful in the future, for whatever reason.

Jazz let out a long sigh and put aside her books just as her parents made their way upstairs.

“Hey princess! How’s the homework coming along?” Her dad questioned as he reached for some of his equipment.

Jazz rubbed her head. “Could be better. I think I need to take a break for now.”

“There’s some pie in the fridge if you like. We have to head out, we got a hit on one of the sensors nearby.” Maddie said while quickly gathering up the last of their gear.

“You seem to be in a hurry.” Jazz commented, noting her parents rushed behavior, which wasn’t typical. Normally they went about this casually, since it had become a common routine.

“The sensor picked up on at least 3, if not 4, ghosts, all of which are levels 5 or above. I think the sensor actually picked up a level 7, but there were some abnormal readings so we can’t say for sure.” Maddie informed as she strapped a gun to her back and reached for the keys.

“Oh…” Jazz breathed out. This would definitely be one of their bigger jobs. Normally they only handled one, two, _maybe_ three ghosts at a time, all of which were generally under a level 5. “Do you need help?” Jazz offered hesitantly. She wasn’t sure how she felt about the whole ghost-hunting thing, but she wasn’t opposed to offering assistance anyway if it would relieve her parents in any form.

Jack quickly shook his head. “ No, no! We got it Jazzy-pants.” He answered hastily. “Just engage the ghost shield after we leave, alright? Just to be safe.”

Jazz knew that was their way of saying they don’t want to lose another child to anything ghost related. She nodded, understanding where they were coming from. “Be safe.” She called out as they rushed out.

The door slammed shut and the house grew quiet. It was so strange not having Danny around, even though it had already been eight months. Jazz stood up and slowly walked up the stairs. She lingered in front of her brother’s room before slowly reaching for the doorknob. They never cleaned out Danny’s room and it was left practically untouched. Sometimes she could find her mother in here, sleeping on his bed. Jazz crept inside, feeling like she was walking in to off-limits territory, and observed the room. One would believe someone still inhabited the area, if it weren’t for the amount of dust that had begun collecting on various items. Clothes still lay on the floor, the bed unmade, books scattered about, and new school supplies sprawled out with the intent of being used for his first year of high school. Jazz didn’t bother turning on the lights and made her way over to the bed and looked up at the ceiling. Plastic stars glowed faintly on the ceiling as the evening began to settle in. What happens after death? Not knowing is the most unsettling thing about losing a loved one. Jazz liked to believe that Danny was amongst the stars, the very thing he loved. She laid back and tried to pick out the constellations that her brother had arranged the stars in to. Tears began to form in her eyes as she traced the patterns in the air with her finger, “Hydra, Crater, Corvus-” 

* * *

 

“-Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia is there.” Danny lay in the grass, pointing up to the sky while drawing a shape in the stars with his finger.

Kitty was laying beside him on his right, also looking up at the stars. “I don’t… I don’t really see it.” She confessed, finding it hard to see shapes in the stars. It had been many years since they had even seen stars, since this was their first time back in the human realm since their deaths.

“Let me see if I can find an easier one.” Danny said while searching the sky. “Okay, there. That’s Ursa minor.” He stated while making a seemingly pointless motion with his hand.

“That didn’t seem easier.” Kitty said, finding it even harder to pin point that shape.

Danny laughed. “Okay, okay. I give up.”

“Whatever happened to like, the big and little dipper?” Johnny, who was lying on Danny’s left, questioned considering those were the only constellations he was really familiar with.

“Everyone knows those, that’s no fun.” Danny said with a sigh while closing his eyes. Seeing the stars and the night sky after so many months gave him a strange bout of energy, and lying down helped as well, but he could feel the exhaustion pulling at him once more. It didn’t help that a lot of his energy had gone to healing the damage Walker and his cronies had caused.

Ember was fiddling with a phone that she ‘borrowed’ from a passing man whom she was able to scare in to giving her the pass code for. She was searching for information on Skulker’s employer so that they could hopefully find a way back.

“Find anything, girly?” Johnny questioned, noting the frown on Ember’s face.

“I think so. It’s hard, because I don’t have much information on him. In the ghost zone he goes by Plasmius and I believe his first name is Vlad. I know he has a life amongst the humans, so I’m trying to find someone who seems like they could have some tie to both realms. I managed to find a Vlad Masters, who appears to fit the profile. He went to college for biological engineering, but was also heavily involved in parapsychology studies. However, he was in some sort of accident before he graduated college. The case was so abnormal and unlike anything they’ve ever seen, medical personnel had no idea how to treat him. After spending an exceedingly long amount of time in the hospital, and after hundreds of failed treatments, he one day just spontaneously began to get better. Considering, by the sounds of it, his state should have been fatal, I’d say it could likely be ghost related.”

Kitty frowned. “I don’t know that doesn’t seem like much to go on, it could just be a coincidence.”

“Well, on top of that, the accident occurred with a device relating to parapsychology, which means it was a ghost-related device.” Ember added.

“I’m a little more convinced, but I think it’s still a bit of a stretch.” Kitty said with a shrug.

“So, where is he from?” Danny mumbled from where he was laying. He understood Kitty’s hesitance, but at the same time, the connections were there.

“Madison Wisconsin.” Ember stated.

Danny whined. “That’s about six hours from here.”

“Yeah, but that’s under the impression he’s currently there. He apparently has residence in other places, some of which aren’t even in the United States.”

“It’s kind of our best shot, honestly.” Johnny said. “Even if he’s not there, we still may be able to gain access.”

“Should we begin our adventure now then?” Ember questioned, noting the lazy behavior of the other three.

“That’s up to Phantom.” Kitty said while sitting up and looking down at Danny.

Danny whined. “Can we stay here just a little longer?” He was still having trouble fighting off the strange, exhausting, pull from within him. It was unlike anything he had ever felt, and he would be lying if he said it wasn’t worrying him.

“Fine, but not too long. As much as I would love to hang around here, I rather do it when one of us is not practically destabilizing.” Ember commented.

“Destabilizing? I’m not actually destabilizing am I!?” Danny questioned frantically.

Ember rolled her eyes. “No dipstick, I was kidding.” She seemed to consider something for a moment before adding, “However, if you start to notice parts of you turning in to raw ectoplasm then we have a problem.”

Danny flinched.

“Yo, don’t be so morbid, no one is destabilizing.” Kitty scolded.

Danny laid back down on the grass and sighed. The others began to talk amongst themselves quietly, completely oblivious to their surroundings. Danny had started to close his eyes when he heard a rustling noise nearby. He slowly blinked his eyes back open and looked towards the direction he heard the noise come from. He wasn’t concerned; it was probably just an animal. When he saw nothing, he went to close his eyes once more, but before he could there was a loud blast to his left. He let out an audible gasp and shot up to examine the area. He found the ground was smoking and slightly blown away, and the others were already up and in a defensive position. Danny went to join them, but before he could get to his feet, hot pain shot up through his side as he was hit with some sort of blast.

“Phantom!” Johnny called out, while quickly making his way over to Danny.

“What the Hell?” Danny growled out.

“Ghost hunter.” Ember stated dryly.

Under the moonlight Danny could make out the silhouette of a man. He held a gun in his hand, while another was strapped to his back. His belts contained other devices that Danny could only imagine what they were used for.

Ember’s hands lit up and she began shooting at the hunter.

Danny clutched his side as ectoplasm began to run down his body. “Shit.”

“Kitty!” Johnny called. “Get Phantom out of here!”

Kitty quickly made her way over and wrapped an arm around Danny.

“We’ll hold him off, just go, we’ll catch up once we lose him!” Johnny said before quickly joining Ember.

Kitty quickly turned both herself and Danny invisible. However, before she was able to move them to safety, a net shot out of nowhere, capturing them both.

Kitty let out a cry as they both went tumbling backwards, losing their invisibility. Danny continued to clutch his side as more ectoplasm began to flow from the wound. Why wasn’t he healing? Was he really that drained?

Kitty thrashed about in the net, attempting to get it off of them. It was ghost proof and her movement did nothing more than get them more entangled.

“Kitty!” Johnny called out in concern. He turned to where the net had come from and caught sight of a woman figure.

“Great, there are two of them.” Ember scoffed.

“I’m fine Johnny, just get rid of them!” Kitty yelled.

There was a low humming sound as a gun powered up and another blast was fired towards Ember and Johnny.

Ember put up a shield before charging towards the man.

Kitty tried everything in her power to break the net, but was halted when a sharp wave of electricity shot through both hers and Danny’s bodies.

Danny let out a groan and looked up to find the woman hovering over them. He believed she said something, but he couldn’t make out what it was with this new wave of dizziness.

“Stay away from us!” Kitty yelled, as the woman removed a smaller gun from her belt.

“Why? You don’t belong here.”

That voice. Why did it sound so familiar? Danny looked up just in time to find the net being yanked off of him. Before he could react, he was pulled away from where he had been and tossed to the side.

He attempted to stand, but was too slow, and came face to face with the barrel of a gun. He stared at the gun, frustrated that he had been reduced to being so useless. He knew his condition had been proving to be problematic, but he never imagined it might cost him his life. He slowly looked up at the woman behind the weapon, and he honestly did not believe whom he saw.

“Mom?” He gasped out. He honestly wasn’t sure if it was really her, or if he was starting to imagine things. Sure his parents were ghost hunters, but they never hunted real ghosts, it was all in theory.

The woman tensed and her eyes widened. She seemed to consider something, before she quickly grew cold once more. “How dare you.” She spat before pulling the trigger.

A bright blast caught Danny in the shoulder and he fell back with a shout. Hot pain shot down his arm and through his chest as more ectoplasm began to flow from his body.

“Phantom!” Kitty screamed, while still fighting the net.

 The woman glared in her direction before turning her attention back to Danny. She re-aimed her gun, this time aiming for his head. “I don’t want to hear those words from you.”

Danny expected pain, a bang, a flash, anything, but it never came. Instead, Johnny’s shadow was cast their direction, and his mother was thrown backwards with a loud crash.

“Phantom!” Ember yelled while she ran to aid him. Johnny was right behind her and he ran to release Kitty from the net.

“Jack?” The woman hunter called out as she stumbled to her feet, seeing the other two ghosts somehow got away from him, she was worried.

Danny tensed at the sound of that name. Jack. No. _Oh no_ , it really was his parents. Ember pulled Danny to his feet and wrapped an arm around him as she ushered him towards Johnny and Kitty.

“We need to go! We can’t fight them with Phantom like this! They’ll end up destroying him!” Kitty yelled while reaching towards Danny’s wounds.

Danny’s hand was held tightly to his side, trying to stop the bleeding. Ectoplasm had soaked his clothes and continued to flow passed his fingers at an alarming rate.

“Portal…” Danny whispered, as if he was contemplating something.

“Yeah, we need to get to a portal.” Ember said while wrapping her arms tighter around Danny, one hand trying to stop the flow of ectoplasm from his side.

“No, portal! My parents, they have a portal!” Danny gasped out in sudden realization.

“What? You’re just now remembering this!?” Johnny said while glancing towards where the hunters were located. “Wait, please tell me those aren’t your parents.”

Danny turned his head, giving them all the answer they hadn’t hoped for.

“You said they were ghost _enthusiasts_!” Ember scolded.

“We need to get away from them.” Danny said while catching sight of his mother regaining her bearings. “My mom, Maddie, is the biggest threat. If we can hinder her, we should be okay.” Danny informed, breathlessly.

“Better do it fast because she’s pissed.” Ember said as Maddie reached for her gun.

“I have an idea!” Kitty exclaimed. “Johnny, Ember, get Phantom out of here as soon as I get them disarmed. I’ll be close behind, I promise.”

“No! I’m not leaving you behind!” Johnny said.

Before Kitty could respond a blast was sent their direction, and Johnny just barely managed intangibility to avoid the shot in time.

“I’ll be fine! Just go!” Kitty demanded.

“She’ll be okay Johnny.” Ember said while attempting to support Danny. Johnny sighed and took Danny from her before giving Kitty a frown. Kitty quickly flew towards where Jack had been previously and Ember took a defensive position as Maddie made her way over to them. She aimed her gun, but before she could focus on her target, Ember sent an ectoplasmic blast towards the weapon. The to energies countered each other with a flash, before fizzling out. Before Maddie was able to take another shot, Jack came up alongside her.

“Maddie.” He barked out.

Maddie quickly turned, surprised by her husbands sudden hostility.  It took a moment for her to process what was happening, but her eyes grew wide with horror when she began to understand. There, stood her husband, with a stick in his hand and the pointed tip held to his throat.

“Let them go or he becomes one of us.” Kitty said, through Jack’s lips.

“You wouldn’t dare…” Maddie challenged.

“Disarm yourself.” She demanded. “Or we’ll see just how serious I am.”

Maddie didn’t move, trying to weigh her options.

“We won’t hurt you if you just let us go.” Ember assured, assuming the woman’s hesitance to disarm was vulnerability.

“Why should I trust you?” Maddie asked bitterly.

“We aren’t here to cause trouble! Once you let us go, I promise there will be no trace of us.” Johnny said.

“But if you don’t…” Kitty said while drawing attention to the sharp stick she held at Jack’s throat.

Maddie hesitated a moment longer before dropping her gun and removing her utility belt with disdain.

Kitty removed the weapons from Jack and tossed them to the side while kicking Maddie’s out of reach. “Go.” She said while looking at the other three and

Ember and Johnny began leading Danny away as fast as possible. Before they could get too far, however, Maddie quickly reached in to her pocket, took out a laser, and shot the stick out of ‘Jack’s’ hand. Kitty gasped and Maddie whipped around and shot aimlessly at the retreating group. The shot caught Danny in the back and he let out a cry as his vision began tunneling. He could feel his world slipping and something seemed to pull at his core. He fell in to Johnny, unaware that two bright rings had begun to appear around his waist. Danny was able to regain himself before losing consciousness and the rings disappeared.

“What the Hell was that?” Ember yelled.

“I have no clue.” Johnny responded while quickly scooping Danny up bridal style. “Fly! She’s still mostly unarmed!”

Ember did as he said and they quickly made their way out of the park.

Maddie turned back to Jack, who was still overshadowed by Kitty.

Knowing that these were Phantom’s parents, she decided against doing harm, and quickly left her host’s body and phased through the ground. As frustrated as she was, now was not the time.

Kitty quickly caught up to them, and when they felt like they were a descent distance away, Johnny landed and attempted to put Danny on his feet. He was relatively unsuccessful as Danny’s legs gave out and fell back in to Johnny’s chest, ectoplasm still seeping from the wounds, soaking both of them.

“Dude! Your house! Where is it?” Johnny questioned frantically, seeing the situation was growing increasingly worse.

“House?” Danny mumbled, confused. He looked around before pointing in a general direction. “I think that way, on Venkman Avenue, it’s Fenton works.” He managed to pull together.

“Good enough.” Ember said. “We just need to beat them there. You didn’t happen to tie them up or anything, did you?”

Kitty shook her head. “I didn’t know what other weapons she had hidden, I didn’t want to risk sticking around.”

“It’s fine, we just need to pray they try hunting us down before returning home. It should lead them astray for a while, they have no reason to believe we’d try to access their home.” Johnny said while picking Danny back up.

They all took off in the direction Danny had gestured to, and to their surprise, they came upon it very quickly; it was pretty hard to miss.

“Looks like we made it back before them.” Kitty said as they made their way to the front door. They casually phased through the door and found themselves in the living room.

“Basement.” Danny said, his voice barely above a whisper. He pulled himself away from Johnny and stumbled a bit while clutching his side. He gestured towards the basement door and they made their way over, all the while ectoplasm spilled on to the floor.

Johnny cursed at the amount of ectoplasm Phantom was losing; still alarmed over the fact that he was no longer healing. That was always a very bad sign.  

“Help me, or he won’t make it back!” Johnny yelled while looking over at the girls.

Kitty quickly to the kitchen and began banging around in the cupboards. She managed to find some hand towels, but that was about it. She handed them to Johnny who pressed them against Danny’s side, which seemed to be the source of most of the bleeding. The shoulder was a concern, but not the immediate.

Ember frowned before deciding it wasn’t good enough and decided to check a bathroom. She turned to move up the stairs only to come face to face with a girl.

A loud gasp left her lips as she stared down at an equally surprised Ember.

“Go!” Ember called to the others, deciding it wasn’t worth it to try and help him here. She had no idea who this girl was, but it was obvious she was a Fenton. More than likely she was a hunter too, and that was the last thing they needed. She turned away from the girl and quickly phased through the floor, and in to the basement, Kitty close behind. Danny looked up and quickly made eye contact with his sister. Horror was clear on her face and she looked like she had been crying. He wanted nothing more than to fly up and hug her, tell her that everything was okay, but things were obviously not okay. Not right now, anyway.

“Dude! Come on!” Johnny scolded while practically dragging Danny down to the basement.

Danny looked at Jazz one last time, before allowing himself to be lead away. Maybe it was his imagination, but he swore he saw her mouth his name.

As soon as they entered the lab, they found Kitty and Ember staring at the deactivated portal. It took a moment for Danny to process his surroundings, but a he stood there, in front of the portal, memories of the accident flooded him. Screaming, he could hear screaming. His own screaming. Sam and Tucker calling for him desperately. He vaguely remembered pain and wanting so desperately to escape.  He felt anxiety begin to surface as he recalled the events, which still haunted him even months later. This is where it all began, and this is where it ended. Between the ectoplasm loss and his growing anxiety as the memories overwhelmed him, he didn’t even realize that his friends had been calling his name.

“-antom! Phantom!” Johnny yelled while shaking him. “How do we turn it on?” He asked desperately.

Danny struggled to remember the exact process, but eventually gestured to a large cord on the floor.

“Plug that in.” Said while gritting his teeth. Kitty quickly made her way over and plugged in in, just as he said.

“Turn it on, the switch, it’s inside.” He informed.

Kitty walked over to the portal and made her way inside.

Bright light, screaming, pain…

“Wait!” He yelled, though the words almost died on his lips.

Kitty halted right before hitting the switch and looked at him nervously.

“T-the cord. Unplug it. Turn the portal on, _then_ plug it back in.” He stammered out.

God, how could he almost make the same mistake twice?

Ember separated the cord while Kitty switched the portal on. When Kitty was clear, Ember plugged it back in.

There was a low humming sound as the machine began to light up. Danny’s vision started to blur as green engulfed the portal, only for the doors to slam shut immediately afterwards.

“What happened?” Kitty gasped.

Danny was just as surprised, but he was too disoriented to even begin to think of what else should be done. Finally, unable to push himself further, he collapsed to the floor.

“Dude, hang on! We’re almost there!” Johnny said while trying to urge Danny up off the floor.

Footsteps came down the stairs and he three of them whipped around, dreading the return of the Fenton couple. However, instead, stood the girl from earlier. She pointed towards the portal, a little to the right. Ember followed her gaze to a keypad and quickly ran over. The screen had a prompt asking for an unlock code.

“10211990.” The girl recited before quickly running back up the stairs.

Ember swiftly punched in the code and the doors opened back up.

“Thank God.” Kitty breathed out while looking towards the stairs where the girl had been.

Danny smiled, relieved, and with that darkness over took him. White rings appeared once more, this time splitting and traveling over his body.

* * *

 

The Fentons opened the door to their home, tossing some of their equipment to the side, and slamming the door shut in frustration.

Footsteps caught their attention as they became aware of Jazz running up from the basement.

“Sweetie? What-” Maddie began, curious as to why her daughter was in the basement, but she didn’t get time to finish as she caught sight of ectoplasm smeared across the floor.

“Jasmine…?” She breathed out. “Did you engage the shield!?”

Jazz looked shocked, but shook her head slowly. To be honest, she had totally forgotten about it, seeing that nothing ever really happened at home.

Jack quickly made his way over to Jazz, to make sure she was okay, and began asking a series of questions. Jazz remained silent, not really listening.

Then came yelling. Desperate yelling.

_“Phantom! No!”_

_“Oh my god, what happened?_

_“Go! Just go!”_

Jazz’s eyes grew wide, praying her parents didn’t hear.

It was wishful thinking.

“No!” Jazz screamed as Maddie grabbed her gun and sprinted down to the basement stairs. She went to follow her, but her father held her back.

When Maddie reached the bottom of the stairs she found ectoplasm streaked across the floor, but that’s not what really caught her attention. No, it was the fact that it was mixed with blood. Human blood. Her heartbeat picked up and she looked up to find one of the ghost boys, the older one, standing in front of the portal. The two girls were already gone and presumably the other, white-haired boy, as well. In the ghost’s arms was a child, with black hair, who was clothed with a hazmat suit that resembled what they kept in the lab. 

“Danny?” She questioned, her voice barely above a whisper. There was no way; she _had_ to be seeing things. She shook her head and aimed her gun. However, she did not fire, and the ghost made his way through the portal with the child in his arms.

Maddie quickly ran over to the controls and reactivated the lock before falling to her knees. The lock pad flashed the code, 10-21-1990, a birthday, before growing dim.

She was seeing things, she was seeing things!

She looked at the blood and felt herself growing sick.

“Danny…” She breathed out before breaking down in tears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, it's taken me a million years to complete this. Honestly, I'm very unhappy about how it turned out, but I can't continue to change and re-read it. So, it's whatever at this point unfortunately. Also, sorry it's been so fast-paced. I promise it'll slow down in the next few chapters.
> 
> Also, in case you didn't pick up on it, the code was is Danny's birthday. Which I sort of just randomized ^^;


	5. Chapter 5

A click echoed through the room as the sound of a machine starting up hummed eerily. Danny didn’t have time to make it to his feet as the lights flickered on. Someone called out to him, terrified, but it was too late. Bright light engulfed him as unbearable pain coursed through his body. He might have screamed, he wasn’t sure. It felt like an eternity before he finally went numb.

Nothing. There was nothing.

He felt like someone was calling to him, but he couldn’t process what was being said. He felt something pulling at him, urging him to move.  He turned towards the direction that seemed to call him, but suddenly stopped.

Something wasn’t right.

He turned around and headed in the opposite direction without much thought.

Pain, screaming, nothing.

Danny felt cold against his face and vaguely acknowledged it was a floor. Voices were calling his name, but he didn’t have the energy to respond. Hands grabbed at him, telling him to hold on. They sounded familiar, but he couldn’t place the faces.

“Danny!”

“Get help-”

“Hold on!”

What happened?”

“-dead?”

He tried to open his eyes, but his surroundings began to spin, he saw a girl, and then nothing.

“Sam… Tucker…”

Suddenly it felt like the world dropped out from under him. He was disoriented, but this time, was able to open his eyes. His surroundings were blurry and dark, but he could make out the shaped of glowing stars on the ceiling.

“There was an accident.”

“He’s not dead.”

“-almost lost him.”

Two people beside his bed were speaking.

“Mom? Dad?” He questioned has he turned his head. Instead of finding concerned parents, he was face to face with a gun. He had no time to question the action before the trigger was pulled. Bright light, pain, and then his world faded to black.

* * *

 

Danny awoke with a start to the sound of faint voices and the slight beeping of a machine. He stirred slightly, but quickly halted his action finding his entire body was in pain. He whined slightly while trying to focus his eyes enough to figure out where he was. The voices ceased and the room grew quiet. He was in a bed, he concluded that much, but he wasn’t sure where. He momentarily caught sight of a figure moving beside him, but didn’t give it much thought. Was he home? The figure now stood beside the bed, he was tall and well built, and he reminded him vaguely of…

“Dad?” Danny managed to ask, voice barely above a whisper.

The man carefully sat down on the side of the bed. “I’m sorry my child, I’m not your father.” He answered gently.

Danny was slightly taken aback by the sight of someone unfamiliar. He tried to recall everything that had happened, but most was a blur.

“I know you’re probably confused dear boy, and I promise to explain everything-“

“Who are you? Are you human?” Danny quickly questioned, cutting the man off.

“Vlad. Vlad Masters.” He answered. He paused momentarily, as if he was considering something, before continuing, “I’m human, _currently_. Again, that’s something I have to explain.”

Danny frowned. Well, that seemed odd. Also, why did that name sound so familiar? “How long have I been asleep?”

“A couple days. Even when you would begin regain consciousness, I would sedate you and put you back to sleep. I figured it would be best if you rested as much as possible. As you can see, your body is not in the best of conditions.” Vlad said while gesturing to a machine.

That was when Danny became aware of the medical equipment on and around him. That is when he realized that not only was he attached to some of these machines, but his body felt heavy and not like his ghost half.  He glanced down finding his skin was pale, very pale, especially compared to the tan skin that Phantom normally presented with. He noted that the hair in front of his face was not white, but instead, black. Danny began to panic, unsure of what was happening, but a hand met his shoulder, attempting to calm him down.

“It’s okay, it’s nothing serious. You’re safe.” Vlad reassured. “You have an IV in your right arm, a feeding tube, heart monitor, blood pressure monitor, amongst a few other things. Again, nothing serious, but necessary for now.”  
Danny shook his head. “I don’t understand, what happened? Why do I look like this? Why do I feel so… _human_?” He questioned frantically.

“Child, please, try to relax and let me explain.”

Danny took a deep breath, attempting to compose himself.

“I don’t know the full story, things were kind of hectic when you were brought to me, but I believe I have a general idea.” Vlad sighed, trying to figure out where to even begin. “There’s no easy way to explain this, so I’ll be as direct as possible. I’m not sure how you ended up this way, what sort of accident you got yourself in to, but whatever it was, it didn’t actually kill you. There is something called a halfa, which is a half-ghost, half-human, hybrid. Whatever sort of accident you were in turned you in to a halfa, but since you walked out in to the ghost zone, your ghost half became the default state. I am assuming you had presumed you were a full ghost, and since you did not change back in to being a human after the accident, your human half went in to a state similar to suspended animation. Your human half sustained itself by feeding off the ghost half, slowly, which was okay for an extended period of time. However, your ghost half was no longer enough, and your human half began to require too much as it slowly began to come out of it’s dormant state, which essentially drained your ghost side. When you entered back in to the human realm, your human half became the default state, and with your exertion on top of your body’s now dire needs, your transformation was triggered. So now, you are back to being human.”

Danny could only stare dumbly at the man. He _had_ to be joking, right? There was no way he was being serious.

“I’ve been studying halfas for the past twenty years child, I could give you a long, in depth, explanation behind how it’s possible.” Vlad said, noting Danny’s disbelief. “However, I don’t believe it will make any sense to you, so it would be a waste of time. I know this is all a lot to take in, especially after just waking up.”

“And why should I trust you? Just because my friends brought me here? Why do you know so much?” Danny questioned nervously.

Vlad smiled slightly. “My name is Vlad Masters, but ghost-kind knows me as Plasmius. Vlad Plasmius.”

That’s when it finally dawned on Danny why his name sounded so familiar. “Y-you’re the ghost that lives with the humans!”

Vlad laughed. “So you have heard of me?”

“We were looking for you. We were, uh, sort of stuck in the human realm. We were fleeing from Walker when we escaped through a portal. Ember said Skulker knew someone with a portal and we were hoping you could help us.” Danny explained.

“How did you get back then? You obviously did not come to me.”

“I remembered that I knew others with a portal.” Danny answered vaguely.

Vlad raised an eyebrow. “What is your name?”

“Phantom.”

“No, your real name.” Vlad rolled his eyes ever so slightly.

“Danny…” He answered with a frown.

“Well, _Danny_ , I’m not exactly a ghost living amongst humans as you put it earlier. The reason I know so much about halfas and their existence is because I, too, am a halfa.”

Danny’s eyes widened. “You’re a half-ghost too? So that accident-”

“How do you know about the accident?” Vlad cut in abruptly.

“Oh, ah…” Danny had the decency to look embarrassed. “Sorry, that was rude. When we were trying to find you, we kind of dug in to some personal information.”

“I see…” Vlad said a little bitterly. “It’s fine. I suppose some of it _is_ public knowledge.”

Danny frowned. “So, what happens now?”

Vlad looked thoughtful. “For now, we focus on getting you back on your feet. You’re still weak and malnourished, so I don’t plan on removing you from the feeding tube for a little while; I fear solid food would be too much. However, I can probably remove basically everything else. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to keep you here for a bit to make sure you’re okay and monitor your progress. Though, hopefully I can get you up and moving soon. I know it’s painful, but that’s partially from atrophy and moving around will do you some good.”

“Why do you have all this equipment in your home? I don’t know it just seems… weird that you just had this all on hand?”

Vlad shrugged. “To be honest with you, my accident made me very ill. I have a staff here, which mind you is an all-ghost staff, to look after me should I fall ill again. That’s why I have everything on hand, mostly out of foreboding.”

“Oh…” Danny breathed out, feeling a bit insensitive.

“So, how about I free you of all this equipment my dear boy?” Vlad suggested while gesturing to the wires. 

* * *

 

Danny sat at the edge of the bed, contemplating whether or not he could stand without collapsing. He felt like he could, but Vlad seemed insistent that he initially would not be able to. He was happy to be free of all the wires, though the removal of the catheter was a nice dose of ‘extremely awkward’ that would last him the next three months. Vlad had stepped out for a moment, to take a call, and Danny was left alone in the room. It was weird how things changed so fast, and he still was not sure about the news of him being a halfa. It made sense, well, sort of, but at the same time it just seemed too far out there. Not to mention, he was literally just left with a man he barely knew anything about. Could he really trust him? Danny knew he should be more wary of the man, but then again, he doubted his friends would have brought him here had they not trusted him either.  Not to mention, he felt this draw to the older halfa. Maybe it was because they were similar? He wasn’t sure.

Danny allowed his feet to touch the floor. It felt so strange to have solid sensations again. Sure, his ghost half had feeling, but it was nothing compared to being human. His body still ached pretty badly, but he ignored it as he decided he was going to try and stand. He leaned forward, off the bed, but as soon as weight was added he felt as if he was going to collapse. It was if his legs outright refused to hold his body. Could he even walk? He honestly doubted it, but it wasn’t going to stop him from trying, and as he went to step forward the bedroom door opened.

“Daniel, don’t!” Vlad yelled, but it was too late.

Danny’s legs gave out and he hit the floor. Vlad quickly made his way over to the boy who was shaking on the ground.

“I-I can’t walk…” Danny began, a bit frantic.

“I know, I know, it’s going to be okay; I warned you this would probably happen.” Vlad tried to console.  He reached down and wrapped his arms around the child, picked him up off the floor, and situated him back on the bed.

“Look, maybe I underplayed the situation a bit. Yes, because you’re half ghost, you will recover considerably faster, and without serious long-term complications. However, it’s still going to be a process, you are still going to need rehabilitated. I know suddenly being human after eight months has to be rough, but you’ll be okay. The fact that you were even able to stand like you did is honestly a good sign.” Vlad explained.

Danny sighed and looked at the man, he knew he was just being impatient, but he was scared, and Vlad’s reassurance helped. _A lot_. Honestly, if he had to handle this alone, in the ghost zone, who knows how it would end.

“Thank you.” Danny said, just a little above a whisper.

“For what child?” Vlad asked, taken aback by the sudden gratitude.

“For helping me. I’m not your problem, I shouldn’t be. You don’t know me, you have no reason to care for me so intently, but here you are. I mean, come on! You’re a billionaire! You have important, I don’t know, rich things to do! So why waste your time on me?” Danny babbled, feeling suddenly guilt.

Vlad stared for a moment, honestly not sure how to respond. The kid had a point, but at the same time, Vlad never felt like ‘not’ helping him was ever an option. Sure, he wasn’t the most caring of people, but Danny was only fourteen.

“Danny…” He began, “We’re the same and I _want_ to help you. You lost everything and had to start over. Believe me, I’ve been there, done that, but unfortunately I had to do it alone. You’re right, I don’t know you, but me helping you isn’t conditional. No one deserves to be left behind due to something that wasn’t their fault.” The last bit was said with hidden distain.

Danny looked surprised, completely at a loss as to how to respond. I mean honestly, how were you supposed to respond to that? Finally, after a long moment of silence, Danny smiled. “So, I’m like your son?” He questioned playfully, in hopes of lightening the conversation.

Vlad stared wide-eyed as he felt himself light up at those words. “Yes, I suppose so.” He responded with a laugh. “Ah, but that means when you don’t listen I get to ground you.”

“Hey!” Danny shouted, but without conviction.

“So… do you want to try and walk again? With some help this time?” Vlad asked, changing the subject.

Danny smiled and shrugged lightly. “Sure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well THIS took forever. I do apologize... I really have no excuses ^^; It's definitely not what I wanted, but I didn't want to have anyone wait any longer as I tried to re-write it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyway, here you go. I considered extending the activities between Vlad and Danny while Danny was recovering, however, mostly everything I considered I decided would be better for later chapters. I apologize if it seemed a little rushed, but I was pulling a bit of a blank and thought trying to go in to details would be more boring than anything.

_The phone rang obnoxiously on the hook. Both Maddie and Jack looked at each other, silently asking who was going to get it. Finally Maddie sighed and made her way over._

_“Hello?” She answered blankly._

_“Maddie?” A man responded from the other end._

_“Yes, who’s this?” She questioned._

_“It’s Vlad Masters.”_

_Her demeanor quickly changed; shocked by the answer. “Oh, Vlad, what a surprise.” She said while Jack glanced up at her._

_“Ah yes, I was just personally following up with some of the RSVPs for the reunion. I noticed you and Jack had not responded and I found that a little odd.”_

_Maddie was silent and for a brief moment Vlad wondered if she had hung up._

_“Yeah, well, you see I’m not sure we are up to dealing with large social gatherings right now.” She finally answered, a weight to her voice._

_“My dear, is everything okay?”_

_Maddie made her way in to the kitchen, out of earshot from Jack. “To be honest? Not really. You see, our son, Danny, he was in an accident.”_

_Vlad could hear her struggling with the words and frowned. “That’s terrible. Is he okay?” Probably a bad question based on her tone of voice._

_“N-no.” She stuttered out. “He’s dead.”_

_Vlad felt his heart sink, the pain in her voice all too clear. “Oh Maddie…”_

_“And I know it was a couple months ago, but we are just not ready to be in a situation where we will be asked about our children or how we are doing, y’know?”_

_“Yes of course, that makes complete sense! I am very sorry to hear about Danny. Honestly, I cannot imagine the pain of losing a child. I would not expect you to put yourself in a position, which would leave you grieving. I will just have to see you some other time, under a more personal setting.”_

_“Thank you for understanding and hopefully we can see you soon. I know Jack really misses you.”_

_“Ah yes… as do I.” He lied. “Take care Maddie.”_

* * *

 

Vlad dug through one of his study drawers until he found what he was looking for.

 

_“I remembered that I knew others with a portal.”_

He carefully pulled it out and laid it on his desk before running his hand over the obituary.

_“What is your name?”_

_“Phantom”_

_“No, your real name.”_

_“Danny…”_

 

Vlad looked down at the obituary for 14-year-old Daniel Fenton. There was no doubt in his mind that this boy, Danny Phantom, was their son. It was surreal, honestly. What were the odds? He never did meet with the Fentons, but instead sent them a condolence package. He still had plans for his revenge, but had to rethink his entire plan. Then again, it all seemed so _wrong_ with Daniel here. If he could convince Daniel to stay with him after he recovered, then everything would be a moot point. Above revenge, above Maddie, above all really, he wanted a son; he wanted someone like him. He sighed as he put the paper back in the drawer. He knew he had a whole life in the ghost zone though, so it was a matter of convincing the boy to start over. However, that was a challenge for another day. The child was still weak, there was time, and Vlad did not want to waste any of it.

* * *

 

 

“So like, how did you discover you were half ghost?” Danny questioned while playing with his food. It was his first meal since the portal accident. Well, first real meal; ghost food didn’t count. Vlad had finally deemed him ready to come off the feeding tube, though he was limited to small portions of soft food and lighter things like soup and smoothies. Danny couldn’t really complain though. “I mean if that’s not too personal or anything.”

“It’s fine.” Vlad said from across the table. “See, since I remained in the human realm after the accident, I stayed human. Also, I think it may have taken my ghost half longer to form than yours, which I believe was instantaneous. I spent a couple years in the hospital with a spectral disease. I eventually started experiencing ghost-like abilities, which you could imagine was very strange. At random times I would find parts of me invisible or I would suddenly fall through the bed. Thankfully no one was ever directly looking when this occurred.” Vlad waved his hand dismissively. “Anyway, I just hit a point where my condition was so bad they were sure I was going to finally die. That evening, I felt a pull inside me, and thinking it was death, I embraced it; I was tired of fighting. Next thing I know rings appeared and I had completely changed forms. At first I thought I had died become a ghost, but it didn’t make sense that my body was no longer there. Suddenly, I felt a weight inside me and the rings reappeared and I was human again. After that, I slowly began to recover. The doctors said it was a miracle, but I knew it had to do with this new side of me.” Lad looked back at the boy who was staring intently at him.

“Wow.” Danny breathed out. “That must have been terrifying.”

Vlad chuckled. “No more terrifying than waking up in a completely different dimension surrounded by specters you aren’t sure are friendly or not.” Vlad commented.

“Yeah I suppose, but I haven’t had to deal with this alone.” Danny said as he brought a spoonful of soup to his lips.

Vlad frowned. “That’s true, but it’s okay, I’m not alone anymore. There’s another halfa to steal the light from me now.” He joked.

Danny gave a playful wink. “You got that right.”

There was a moment of silence as they both continued to eat their dinner. The mood in the air seemed to change and Vlad picked up on the fact that Danny was suddenly upset about something.

“Daniel? Something wrong?” He questioned cautiously, afraid he had done something to upset him.

“I just… what if they don’t like me anymore?” Danny began.

“Who?”

“My friends in the ghost zone. I’m not like them, I’m human, and what if they resent that? Danny said with worry.

Vlad raised an eyebrow. “Why would that matter? You were friends because they like you, right? I don’t see being a halfa would affect that. In my experience, it tends to fascinate ghosts more than repel them.” Vlad shrugged. “But you know, there is always a place for you here should things go sour.”

Danny gave a light smile. “Thanks.” He said, not really considering what Vlad was implying.

There was another long moment of silence as Vlad contemplated if he wanted to bring up Daniel’s living situation yet. If he mentioned it now, it would allow the boy to at least think about it for a while. However, he risked freaking the boy out.

“Actually Daniel…” Vlad began.

“Danny. You can call me Danny.” He corrected.

“Ah, Danny. There was something I wanted to bring up with you.”

Danny glanced up at the man nervously.

“Of course I don’t expect an immediate answer, and it’s something you have time to think about, but…” Vlad began before hesitating. “I want you to potentially consider staying here. With me.”

Danny cocked his head. “I mean, I don’t think I have a choice, I’m not better yet.”

“No, that’s not quite what I meant. I mean, when you’re well again. Instead of returning to the ghost zone, you can make residence here.”

“Oh…” Danny breathed out, a bit stunned. “I mean that’s a pretty drastic change. I have a whole life there, friends, a lair, I would basically have to uproot my whole life.”

“Like I said, you don’t need to give me an answer right now, but I would like you to maybe consider it.” Vlad encouraged.

“Okay.” Danny answered timidly. It was actually a pretty amazing offer. He could start over. Living with someone willing to care for him, given he was still a child after all. He would be able to start over, live as a human, and to top it all off, the man was rich. He would never have to worry about money or overspending. He wasn’t an overindulgent person, but the security would be reassuring. Except there was the fact that he’d be away from everyone he cared about and established bonds with over the last few months. Friends had always been important to him, and it took him a long time to fill the hole that was left knowing he could no longer see Sam and Tucker. Could he really deprive himself of his new friends and start over all _again_? He wasn’t sure.

“Whatever you do end up deciding, just know, you are always welcome here.” Vlad added casually.

Danny nodded. “Thanks, I’ll think about it.”

“Now… how about we go play a game before bed?” Vlad offered.

Danny smiled. “Alright!”

* * *

 

The next few weeks went by quickly and the time was spent mostly resting and participating in low-key activities. It was nice, for a while, but Danny could feel himself growing restless. He had considered Vlad’s offer to live with him, but he remained conflicted. He knew it was a beneficial offer, especially now that his human half was no longer dormant and would need constant attention. However, he couldn’t wrap his mind around the idea of starting over and leaving his friends.

Danny gathered his clothes, curtsey of Vlad, and put them in a small bag.

“Are you sure you’re ready?” Vlad asked from the doorway of the bedroom.

Danny turned and smiled. “Yeah, you said so yourself, remember?”

“I know, but I mean like personally ready.”

Danny nodded. “I just really want to see my friends at this point, and my lair sounds really nice. No offense to-“ he gestured around the room. “-All this.”

Vlad shrugged. “None taken.”

“If anything happens I will come back, I promise.” He said while picking up the bag, and putting it on his shoulder.

Vlad was quiet for a moment before sighing. “Very well. I already sent Skulker and a few other ghosts to drop off food and other necessities at your lair. It should last you a month or two, but you will need to make trips in to the human realm to make sure you have the necessary things to maintain your human half. The money I gave you should cover your next few re-stocking trips and while I have full intent on giving you as much as you need for as long as you’re _alive_ , please try to be responsible about your spending.” Vlad informed, rather quickly. Quite frankly he sounded like a parent sending their child off to their first day off school.

“Okay, okay! I gotcha.” He said while walking towards Vlad. “And thank you, I appreciate everything you have done for me.”

“You’re more than welcome my dear boy.”

They both walked out of the room and Vlad slowly closed the door behind them. Neither said a word as they quietly walked through the halls and towards Vlad’s secret lab, which contained the portal. They entered his study and descended down the stairs, and Danny began to feel a sense of loss. It was silly; he wasn’t even gone yet, so why did he feel like he may be making a mistake? He pushed the feeling aside; if he wanted to, he could always come back. They entered the lab, and immediately whatever thoughts were going through Danny’s head were cleared.

“Whoa!” He breathed out, amazed by the size and complexity.

“Ah, I sometimes forget that you didn’t actually see the lab, considering you were unconscious when you were brought here. You know, had I remembered, I would have let you see it sooner.”

Danny looked around, taking everything in. Some of the equipment and designs were familiar; he had seen them in his parent’s lab. However, there was also a lot that was completely new, seeing as the lab was far bigger and more advanced than what his parents could ever dream of. Ah, the perks of being rich.

“Impressive.” Danny said, while following Vlad towards the portal.

Vlad punched a code in to the panel on the wall. “Come here.” He said, while gesturing Danny over. “Put your finger on the scanner.”

Danny did as he was told, and he could feel a slight prickling sensation before the laser died away. “What was that?”

“An ecto-signature reader. Now, any time you need to access my portal, you just have to enter and the entrance will pick up on your signature and automatically unlock. It will also trigger something similar to a doorbell opposed to a warning alarm, so I’ll know you’re here. I’ve done the same to Skulker.”

“Oh… well, that’s neat.” Danny stated as the portal began to unlock.

“So, are you all set?” Vlad asked one last time.

“Yeah, I’m set. I promise to stop by in the future.”

“I encourage you to still consider my offer, especially if you find yourself struggling to meet your human needs.”

“Gotcha.” Danny said with a playful salute. “Thanks again, I wouldn’t have survived without you.”

“You’re welcome my child.”

Danny turned and entered the portal, entering back in to the other side.


End file.
